Troy Tallman was a four-year football and baseball player at Napa High. He also played basketball in his early years at the school, but made his mark as an athlete in the former two sports. As a football player, Tallman was a bruising, hard driving runner and a solid defensive player. He was Defensive Captain on the JV team as a freshman and was a running back on the varsity in his sophomore year. As a junior, he was having a sensational year running the football until an injury cut his season short. He still made the All-MEL team and was an Academic All-American. It all came together in his senior year as the Napa High Indians, led by the All-County fullback Tallman, won the MEL championship. Tallman was named Napa High Athlete of the Year as well as a Bay Area Scholar Athlete. As good as he was in football, Tallman had even greater success as a baseball player. He was All-MEL catcher for three years, All-County for three years and in his senior year, led Napa High to the Sac-Joaquin Championship. He was named one of the top 50 high school players in the nation. During his career, Tallman also played for the team representing the United States that played against a Japanese high school all-star team in the High School World Series that was played in three cities on the West Coast. Later he played on a team that went to Japan to renew that rivalry. Tallman’s baseball talents earned him a scholarship to Stanford where he was a starting catcher and played for a Stanford nine that went to the finals of the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Tallman was elected to the Napa High School Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility – 15 years after graduation.
